The Start of Mariel’s Story

For someone only recently starting her teen years at the age of fourteen, Mariel’s voice, sound, and aesthetic holds the maturity of an artist with experience and the heart of a free spirit with a wanderlust soul. With her Youtube channel filled with covers of other songs ranging from Tori Kelly to Zara Larsson to The Chainsmokers, Mariel is now ready to release her own original music out into the world.

Her debut single/music video, “Epic” set to come out to the public soon, focuses on an epic adventure with Mariel and her friends through the city of New York. “It was definitely the scene in the amazing NYC apartment. In the living room, there were these gigantic windows that overlooked the bustling city,” Mariel shared about the moment/scene that blew her away while filming. “When I was standing on the windowsill and singing, I felt like I was on top of the world as I watched the crowded streets below.”

“Epic,” Mariel says, comes out of working with multi-Platinum and multi-Grammy winning producers Michael Mangini and Peter Zizzo (The Jonas Brothers, Avril Lavigne, Vanessa Carlton), “They really understand me and the vibe I am going for. We wanted to create a song about a night so fun and so epic that my friends and I would be talking about it forever. The concept came first and the rest is history.”

“Everything we do is documented,” Mariel explained about how she felt including a part of the millennial generation’s voice into her song and video. “As millennials, we don’t know any differently—it’s our way of life. There is so much white noise out there that the only way to come through and be really recognized is to do something epic,” she exclaimed with a smile.

Besides working on getting her single out, Mariel also prepares for getting her debut EP, “Make It Epic” out into the world. Describing the title and EP as being about “making the most of life and making it count,” she says it’s the perfect reflection of her. “I think it will give listeners a good look into who I am as a person—it’s really pop-drive and fun, but there is a serious side as well.” She shares that while there isn’t a set date yet for the EP to officially drop, she hopes it should be available by later this year.

“I think the most surprising theme [in my music] is, ‘I can do this!!’,” Mariel explains. “I have been doing this since I’ve been nine years old and initially, I always had the thought, ‘I can’t hit that note,’ or ‘that song is not in my range,’ but time after time I have proven myself wrong. I’ve learned not to say, ‘can’t’ anymore! I usually just give it a go and I surprise myself. I believe you can’t succeed if you don’t try.”

And while Mariel has been on this journey for awhile, she says she still sees herself as developing. In sharing the lyric of hers that she would describe to be autobiographical, she says, “It would be, ‘let’s start our story.’ This is my first major music video and I feel like I am in the infancy stages of an amazing journey to the unknown. Every day I feel like I’m learning and growing. I am so excited to see where this all goes. I feel like I am living a journey to a dream come true.”

As an artist, Mariel credits Taylor Swift as an inspiration, “She is the full package—she is graceful, talented, stylish, and so much more. I love how she tells stories through her music and spreads positive messages.”

Recently, Mariel just finished another learning experience participating on the Camplified tour this summer with artists like Sophie Beem and Tyson. “I learned so much about connecting with an audience, but also about teamwork,” she shares about her experience. “I loved working with my DJ Willie G and my guitarist Mikey Salerno. Working together with them on stage gave me an added confidence to really succeed with my performing.”

“Music is something you always need to work on to become better,” Mariel begins about what she’s learning about the music industry. “There is always something new you can learn. It’s important to remain true to yourself and find who you are as an artist instead of trying to be someone you think you need to be. When you’re true to yourself as an artist, it’s much easier for people to connect to your music. I think having others connect to your music is something that all artists can hope for,” she exclaims.

Talking about her family, Mariel credits her mom for helping to influence her goals and aspirations, “My family isn’t really musical, but my mom has always been so supportive and proud of me. Even when she wasn’t sure if I was hitting the right notes, she supported me doing musicals, Christmas shows, talent shows, etc.”

Being surrounded by support, Mariel shows that she’s developing a strong work ethic admitting that the makes a lot of sacrifices with her social life to work on the music that she loves. “This past year has been a whirlwind,” Mariel shares about what she’s learned about herself in the past year. “I dedicate almost all of my free time to my music. From recording in the studio, writing sessions, making my music video, photo shoots, to making Youtube videos, practicing for my summer tour, being on tour, etc. I have little time to be able to just hang out with my friends. I love my friends but I have learned that I am willing to make these sacrifices to make my dreams come true.”

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22-year-old Chicagoan and college student that's always writing, reading, and watching. Future creator of television and books, current co-creator of this website. Follow my Twitter and Tumblr to learn more.